Azernews.Az

Baku and Ankara did not sign an agreement on lifting visa regulations during Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov’s visit to Turkey, Mammadyarov and his counterpart Ahmet Davutoglu announced after talks Friday.
Mammadyarov told a joint news briefing in Ankara that a relevant protocol was expected to be signed but some red tape problems had prevented its signing.
"On Turkey’s end, everything is ready in this respect. But Azerbaijan’s undergoing some procedures is necessary. Once these procedures have been completed, a protocol on lifting the visa regime will be signed."
Davutoglu, for his part, said the protocol signing had been delayed merely for technical reasons.
Thus, Azerbaijani and Turkish citizens are still required to obtain visas to travel to the neighboring country. Such visas allow for one-month-long stay. For long-term stays, a separate permit is required.
Davutoglu said the agenda of his comprehensive discussions with the Azerbaijani minister also included the developments ongoing in the Caucasus region, efforts being made to speed a settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh and the work of the OSCE Minsk Group, which is brokering the peace process.
Davutoglu said Turkey would like to see a time when tension ends in the turbulent region and occupation ceases. He said that as a result of the road covered over seven to eight months, peace is around the corner but all sides involved should fulfill their tasks to accomplish that goal.
Further, the Turkish minister said Ankara intends to forge multilateral relations with Armenia. However, the Grand National Assembly, Turkey’s parliament, will have a final say in ratifying the protocols on normalizing ties signed with Yerevan in October.
The Turkish parliament has ruled out approval of the reconciliation accord prior to a pullout of the Armenian armed forces from the occupied Azerbaijani territories.
The two ministers pledged that the two countries would not allow for another cool-down in bilateral relations, referring to the differences caused earlier by the signing of the Turkish-Armenian normalization agreement.
The protocols, signed by the Turkish and Armenian governments in Zurich on October 10, seek to forge diplomatic ties and open the sealed border, following decades of hostility caused by the Armenian occupation of Azerbaijani territory and genocide claims.
Davutoglu noted that Turkey and Azerbaijan are fully coordinating their steps and cooperating.
He added that energy projects were discussed with Mammadyarov as well.*